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The Story
Below you will find summaries of each session of the campaign played so far, starting with the most recent session. When Last We Saw Our Adventurers... Session 8.5.19 Location: Lodge of the Corvo Bianco Royal Hunting Grounds The party go their separate ways to their individual rooms for the night, Saejin ("The Poet") stopping by each room to quickly mention that her sister Martabok maaay possibly be evil and betray them in the morning but don't worry about it. All eventually drift off to sleep, though some better than others: Kolai and Shadow are wracked with nightmares (presumably due to having brought iron into the Queen's dominion), while Tasi and Saejin sleep soundly. Scoff ("Whiskers") dreams that he is summoned toward the large mist-surrounded tree in the backyard, but when he goes through, he is transported out of his body. The next morning he awakens, but remains separated from his corporeal form (what Ellen later calls "corporeally challenged"), so he laves it and wanders about the lodge. Meanwhile, the rest of the party awaken and begin their morning rituals. Saejin and Tasi, in the midst of preparing their spells in adjacent rooms, hear chanting coming from outside their windows. They both listen intently to the words, and Saejin, curious to know who this elf woman is praying to, grants herself the Blessing of Knowledge to understand, then hears: Oh friend and companion of night, thou who rejoicest in the baying of dogs and spilt blood, who wanderest in the midst of shades among the tombs, who longest for blood and bringest terror to mortals, thousand-faced god, look favourably on our sacrifices! Saejin yells out at the woman, who promptly moves further away. Saejin and Tasi hang out their windows and chat about religion, personal sacrifice (or a lack thereof, on Saejin's part), and Tasi's wife she was forced to leave behind in the Underdark. The breakfast bell rings and most head down to the dining room, except Saejin, who heads to the library to avoid having to account for her lack of appetite ("special diet" or not) or face her sister right away. At the table, Ellen has foreseen their denial of breakfast due to their "special diet," and offers house-made hard tack, but all manage to weasel their way out of flat-out denying the provided food. Kolai thinks to train, and goes looking for "Whiskers" to join him. He finds him in his room, laying in bed -- strangely, given his usual rise time. When Kolai approaches and pokes, he does not wake, and Kolai fears he is dead. Knowing "The Poet" has also not come down for breakfast, he seeks her in her room, but ultimately finds her in the library, half-assedly flipping through tomes. They return together to Scoff's room. Saejin finds a pulse, then assumes he has probably overdosed on drugs. They bring the others, and looking him over, Tasi immediately recognizes him as being under the effect of a powerful Astral Projection spell. She looks and feels for some sort of tether she may attempt to break, but does not find one. She attempts to dispel the magic, but it is too advanced. Kolai calls Ellen forth and asks her what she thinks, and she informs them that she had seen him earlier, and had offered to share with him how he might communicate with the group in this form, but that he was unwilling to grant a favor in kind so a deal was not struck. Saejin, frightened by her words but aware he is still present somewhere around the lodge, don's Armstrong's Spectacles and walks throughout the lodge, yelling his name. Saejin eventually ends up in the garden, then, looking toward the backyard, sees the misty tree surrounded by water she'd encountered as Hind, and a glowing form of Scoff passing near it. She calls to him, but at first can't tell if she sees him or not. She confirms that she does, but cannot hear him, so July 2019 Session 7.29.19 Location: Lodge of the Corvo Bianco Royal Hunting Grounds June 2019 May 2019 Session 5.20.19 Location: Edison's Lair, beneath the town of Aurora Kolai dreams and talks to Elwood, looks for Krak. He learns that Glip Glop has been feeling drained recently. Last the party saw him outside Dreamfaire, he was headed to the floating ossuary; he tells Kolai he cannot leave. The party gets back to Rufus, and find that Prickle and Shove have been brought to Vespertide. The party then make their way out of the woods surrounding Aurora, and make the 1.5-2 day journey back to Vespertide. Random notes: * The Bag of Holding had the location of the Arm of Set * Fidget is the name of the guy that taught Jenny spells * Tasi takes Killer Instinct (win every die roll in your favor) * Shadow takes Tactician (once every long rest, you can add 1d6 to any roll) * Saejin retrieves Nelsen's mask after Shadow shoots him in the head Session 5.13.19 Location: Cubert inside Edison's Lair, beneath town of Aurora Cubert Kart Chaos. The race continues, but is ultimately won by Shadow, with his 3 remaining hit points, riding across the finish line on a unicorn. Cubert invites him to accept his journal page as reward, and the other contestants take their place on the podiums. They have a short period of time to converse before they will be ejected from the Cubert. Shadow asks Chad how he enjoyed the boots... but apparently Kolai, upset at having his cart reduced by Shadow, told Chad that Shadow had sent them. Shadow accuses Chad of keeping pages for himself and going against the Sovereign of Corvo Bianco, but Chad says that he is actually here on the Sovereign's orders; forces are preparing to attack Edward (?), but he’s too powerful for them at the moment. Shadow asks how Chad used the power provided by the pages, but Chad says she will only share this information if Shadow hands the party's pages over to him. Chad tries to make amends and offer an olive branch, suggesting that Ragnar can show the party how to use them properly. Chad admits that they’d lost track of Shadow's comings-and-goings weeks ago, and they'd joked about what might have happened to him. Shadow shows Chad his selfie of him and the tarrasque. He then takes a photo of Chad and gives it to him. Chad loves it: “it’s even got all the collars!” Shadow explains how the Echelon group is wrapped up with the tarrasque, but Chad shrugs it off, saying there are only fragments of the group left. Chad has been standing on top of one of his minions to appear taller the whole time. Inexplicably. Scoff and Tasi speak, and Scoff questions her motives with the party, but she appears unflinchingly concerned about the party's wellbeing. It seems to be a mutually beneficial relationship, since she states that as long as she stays with the party she’s protected from her family and MC&D. But she will be reprimanded if she runs back into them, and MC&D's work proceeds on despite her absence. Kolai and Edward stare at each other. For a very long time. Kolai asks how Bradley Reinhardt is doing, and Edward says that despite us doing a number on Reinhardt, he’s doing much better now. Because vampirism. Edward asks how Rebecca is doing, and says he’s heard she’s gathering cobwebs. Edward pats Nadia on the head and says that she has something he might be interested in and says something about “for her disobedience on the track.” She remains stoic, but appears to be working things over in her head. Saejin then receives a Sending from Nadia: “men came with the page for me to appraise. Recognized from one you showed me. Hidden in your book. Martabok is missing. Kama is strange.” Saejin replies: “I will investigate. Stay safe. We will do our best to protect you from Edward. I will call you soon. Kiss Sarah for me. Wait...” Realizing that they work in different libraries and Nadia doesn’t know who Sarah is. Tasi receives a message from Ripkin, and Tasi responds with a message in thieves cant, via morse code. A few of the party notice that one of Chad’s minions (humanoids that, as a few of the party saw when they'd taken damage during the race, have almost reddened, deeply tanned skin but wear strangely silent, full body armor) continuously stares at Kolai as all of these conversations occur. Finally, the party pops out of the Cubert and reconnects with Nelsen. Scoff is desperately craving a sandwich and requests one, but Nelsen doesn’t understand what he’s asking for. The party surmises that Krak will not tolerate deception nor a game of keep-away with the Arms. They despair over the pickle they are now in. Saejin suggests they reach out to Elwood Splitfinger and Glip Glop and consider ways to exorcise Vecna from him, so that he remains a powerful ally for the party, but would no longer be evil. They know the Arms cannot be taken near Sunken Aerie, so they debate over whether to destroy them, Saejin preferring not to, though mostly desiring the Arm of Set. Nelsen suggests they ask The Arm of Set some of these questions, then Tasi darkly convinces Nelsen to do it himself. Nelsen, fearing he may be speaking his last words before his life is taken by the Arm, tells them to remember he did this willingly, and just that he was here. For the price of his remaining dignity, Nelsen asks the Arm of Set: “How would one go about removing Vecna from the entity known as Krak?” Tasi insists that he then do a little jig, but he says no, claiming that he still has his dignity. His pants then fall down. He does a little jig. The Arm writes: “Kill Krak, but that will not solve their problem.” He then asks the Arm: “What would they need to do to solve the problem of Vecna?” The Arm writes: “Seek the Sword of Kas. Only it can vanquish Vecna.” All of his hair then falls out. Kolai recalls hearing of this sword among a discussion of legendary weapons between his military comrades — Vecna is a lich demi-god with a general named Kas that has always been his #2, but they’ve always had an adversarial relationship; while Vecna has always craved power, Kas has always helped but is morally opposed to Vecna’s manners. Anyone who wields the sword follows Vecna’s orders, but upon seeing Vecna in his true form, will go for the kill. Vecna is the only one that can destroy the sword, but only the sword has the ability to destroy Vecna. Because of this relationship, they are opposing forces that also need each other. As Kolai describes this, Saejin realizes that Glip Glop wields this sword, as she saw it in his mind when they encountered him in the goblin caves in Lamplight (?) Nelsen denies worshiping Vecna, saying he works for himself. Kolai attempts to destroy the Hand of Vecna by throwing it past the sigils in one of the chambers. The skelemental still stands there, staring at the table. Kolai is blinded by bright light emanating from the sigils, but the hand is unaffected. Saejin begrudgingly casts Lesser Restoration on him as they prepare to leave the chambers. Session 5.6.19 Location: Cubert inside Edison's Lair, beneath town of Aurora Cubert Kart Chaos. April 2019 Session 4.29.19 Location: Edison's Lair, beneath town of Aurora The party crashes for the night, with many sleeping in a pile on Edison's heart-shaped bed. Saejin, Scoff, and Tasi wake a bit groggy and start their daily rituals and routines, while Kolai and Shadow proceed back to the enchanted table to investigate further. They test some theories, including turning it upside down -- doing so leaves a small crater in the stone floor from the enchanted bubble atop its surface. Nelsen tells them that the table is "beyond the touch of time." Shadow puts on Armstrong's Spectacles, and observes the skelemental continuing to stare at the table as they mess with it. Eventually they decide to carry the table to the anti-death ward sigils guarding the evil Arm chamber and see what that might do. They get it midway down the passage of the evil Arm room before a terrible voice speaks in Shadow's head, telling him to retrieve the evil Arm and replace his own with it. He goes to the evil Arm and begins to hack away at his own arm before Kolai, seeing this, slides under the enchanted table and runs to stop him, yelling out, "help. help. help..." The other party members hear this and come to aid. While Kolai and Shadow scuffle in front of the evil Arm, the rest of the party quickly debate how to help without themselves ending up controlled by its influence. In the meantime, Saejin casts Hold Person on both Kolai and Shadow to prevent the loss of a good arm (though Kolai is neither held by her spell, nor charmed by the evil arm), then suggests having the strongest between herself, Scoff, and Tasi put the Ring of Mind Shielding on and go drag Shadow out. Unfortunately, Shadow is a massive cat-man and they are all weak. She then tries another method and casts Unseen Servant, giving Eric Zahn the Ring and telling him to go put it on Shadow. Unfortunately Eric Zahn (and Saejin) are not the smartest and he goes over the table, taking enough damage to dissipate and then dropping the Ring into the enchantment bubble. Scoff manages to fish it out, albeit quite tarnished by the enchantment, then heads further into the evil Arm chamber to help Shadow and Kolai. Upon progressing toward the Arm Scoff does feel its influence, but is not affected, as he slips the ring on. Tasi remembers a spell she learned from reading Nelsen/Edison(?)'s spellbook, and from outside the chamber ?? slides Scoff a black leather bag, telling him to place the evil arm within it. Scoff does so, and manages to resist the arm's evil machinations in the process. The bag seems to neutralize whatever power the evil arm was giving off. Eventually Scoff, Shadow, and Kolai manage to make it out of the room, the Arm's power being quelled by the bag... for now. After a bit of chastising and healing of Shadow's butchered arm, the party proceeds on to the Cubert chamber and they look around. Nelsen says that it showed up a few months prior, arriving with a loud thud -- the party comes to the conclusion that, like many other Cuberts past, this one fell from the sky. Shadow tries to open it by asking nicely, but then they recall this method has already been used. Saejin remembers that no one has ever used the spell Suggestion and gives that a go. It works! Felix and Nelsen choose to stay behind and chat. Shadow enters the Cubert first, surprising no one. Cubert speaks to him and tells him that others have been waiting for them to arrive; people they know. Once everyone has come inside, find themselves in separate but visible rooms all facing down over a race track (like box seats at a game, but the walls separating them are see-through). Cubert says he thought he'd bring together the people with the largest collections of Jenny's journal pages, and in these rooms with them appear Nadia Spinebreaker, Chad, Nicodemus Whatley, Ripkin, and Edward, all with numbers over their heads representing the number of pages they possess. It is time for the race to begin! The teams are designated as follows (# of pages): * Chad (2) and Kolai (5?) * Nadia (2) and Edward (7) * Ripkin (2) and Scoff (0) * Nicodemus ("1 actual, 1 technical") and Saejin (0) * Tasi (0) and Shadow (0) Cubert tells them all that whichever car wins will have a shot at the treasure, another journal page; but they may have to fight their teammate for it. Before the flag, the party huddles and decides that the best outcome would be for Tasi and Shadow to win, so there is no chance of the page falling into the wrong hands. Saejin inspires Shadow with "Ambling Old Cat." In the last moments, Shadow walks by Kolai and Chad's car and strikes it with his sword, casting Reduce on it and turning it into a Hot Wheel. Scoff decides to take Ripkin out of the running by sabotaging his own chances and picking a fight inside their minecart -- for the first many rounds, their vehicle never leaves the starting line. Shadow and Tasi gain an early lead (towing Kolai and Chad's Hot Wheel behind them), and though Edward and Nadia start to catch up (Nadia herself doing her part to sabotage Edward's progress in small ways), Saejin forces Nicodemus to take the wheel as she Guiding Bolt's Edward's back tire to complete destruction, before Rufus (reminiscent of Lakitu in MarioKart) swoops down with a replacement vehicle for Edward. As the session wrapped up, Shadow and Tasi were in the far lead on a straight-away, beginning to slow down as they approach a corner. Scoff had exited his vehicle, running across one side of the track to the other, while Ripkin's vehicle continually speeds faster toward a corner (and likely a violent crash). Nadia has abandoned Edward's vehicle and is now in a car with Kolai and Chad. Session 4.22.19 Location: Edison's lair, beneath town of Aurora The party did not quite get the sneak attack on Edison that they had hoped for, but did still manage to defeat him. Saejin then brought Nelsen back to life with a Revivify spell, using up the party's allotted diamond. They spoke with Nelsen while he gave them a tour of the reliquary, filled with cartoonish looking gems and gold (which Shadow collects). In the reliquary, they discovered a table with a powerful enchantment on it, appearing as a bubble over the table's surface (only to Kolai, or whole party?). Kolai, wearing Armstrong's Spectacles, also noticed a strange skelemental (similar to the one he saw at the Whatleys) staring at the enchanted table. Saejin continued to speak with Nelsen in the next room while Tasi looted Edison's body and Kolai and Shadow examined the enchanted table further. Nelsen could not answer her questions about the location of The Echelon's first base or who their "former servants" refers to (as written on the Arm of Set vellum pages), though Saejin suspects that this "first base" is where the Ultimate Panacea is located. She asks why he never tried the other options for healing his blight -- he denied ever being able to make a deal with the Whatleys, because Nicodemus was unwilling to leave the swamp, and Nelsen was unable to leave Edison's lair. In terms of the other option, he says that he was unable to destroy Edna's soul or set it to rest because it was somehow hidden to him. He did admit to being the "master" to the young necromancer brothers Cho and Goth -- and Saejin is reminded of their laboratory as she walks through what looks like Nelsen's beginnings of a similar-looking lab. He tells her that he was able to command the brothers through the use of 2 connected bags of holding, one of which the party ends up taking from him, and the other which the party looted from Cho and Goth's home and is now in the possession of Krak. Shadow and Kolai managed to remove the journal from the table, but noted that anything that passed through the enchantment bubble was aged or tarnished in the process, while the journal and other objects on the table appeared as if never aged while still under the enchantment. Kolai also noticed that the table has been painted to cover its true cartoon-y appearance. Nelsen continued to guide them to where two of the Arms were located, in separate chambers guarded by arcane sigils. At the end of the lefthand chamber was a left arm cut at the bicep, holding a beating heart, and a dark, ethereal figure (whom the party then realizes is Noctus) curled beneath it. The party gathered that the heart belonged to Noctus, and that some sort of remainder of his soul was guarding the Arm, as when Saejin cast Unseen Servant and sent Eric Zahn to retrieve the Arm, Noctus' spirit lashed out and dispelled him. Saejin noted that Noctus' face looked mournful and lost, but the party felt that he could not be saved and the most humane option would be to sever whatever magics were binding him. By destroying the heart, the figure was also destroyed and the Arm claimed. The party gathered with some guidance from Nelsen that by placing the heart of a creature into Arm's hand, one gains mastery over the owner of the heart. The party has yet to figure out how to retrieve the second Arm from its chamber. In the final moments of the session, Nelsen led the party to the final chamber, and the big reveal -- a Cubert. Session 4.15.19 Location: The Be-Trollder Battle Pit, beneath town of Aurora The party investigates the strange colosseum-style pit, and note the presence of many bulbous green creatures with long limbs and extra appendages, all quite dead, lining the pit. They consider whether anything lives within the pit, and to follow up on this theory, Felix uses the Teapot of Limited Wish to summon a squirrel, then tosses it into the pit as bait. Saejin hears whispered voices, and calls out for whoever's there to reveal themselves. Suddenly, Noctus and another figure (whom the party assumes is Edison, but later learn in Nelsen) appear on a glass-like ceiling above the pit. One of the voices explains that they have the honor of fighting some sort of prized monster, and that the former champion was very difficult to defeat. The party combats a troll-beholder, all while magical disco balls cause them to be stunned, magic forces them to dance uncontrollably, and spores rain down from the ceiling, causing confusion. They eventually learn that Nelsen is a necrodancer (aka a necromancer/bard). The troll-beholder is defeated, but both Shadow and Tasi are very injured in the process. Following their success in the pit, Nelsen invites the party to move forward. They attempt to rest, but still find they are unable to, so they heal themselves through magic and potions instead before exiting the base of the pit. They find themselves in a hallway, where a curtain obscures another chamber. They can hear something being prepared behind the curtain, and Nelsen's voice speaks to them, telling them to join him within; they proceed forward begrudgingly, knowing they don't have much fight left in them and not knowing what awaits. Nelsen greets them warmly and explains that he would actually like to hire them to seek and collect for him something known as the "Ultimate Panacea," which would cure him of the blight that destroyed his face, causing him to have to wear a mask. The party notes that, according to the Arm of Set's vellum pages, he gave his left arm in order to learn of this solution -- his other options for curing the blight were to make a deal with the Whatleys, or destroy Edna's soul. Saejin also notes that the "Ultimate Pancetta" was a restoration magic project that Madame Curie had been working on, but, as far as they know, had never completed (they discovered this when they found Curie's notes at Pascal Manor). Session 4.8.19 Location: Edison/Nelsen's Office, in mines beneath town of Aurora Saejin casts Identify on the Arm of Set, and they learn that whoever possesses the Arm can ask it questions using a sheet of vellum; the answer is then revealed by the Arm onto the sheet, as is the cost that has been claimed for the attainment of that knowledge. As the party investigates the office they assume belongs to Edison, they continue to be harried by the Shades. Saejin sends her beaver out of the office to see if it will distract them -- it does not, and the beaver wanders off. The party notes a different type of ethereal figure in their vacinity, talking over its shoulder to someone they cannot see. They head back down the passage and into a 60' x 60' chamber. A square-like oddity (??) hovers (??) within the room, and Saejin's beaver lay completely crushed beneath it. Kolai attempts to walk under it, causing a cave-in that traps him under rubble. Tasi casts Shatter in order to free him. Shadow starts to cross the chamber before the ghostly figure of a tabaxi emerges. The figure says that he and his comrades were killed in battle by a beholder, but that Nelsen lied about their deaths, saying they died in a cave-in, robbing them of their honor. Shadow then chooses to strike out at the tabaxi figure, which he believes is Echo of the Forest, "destroying" him quite quickly. The party gathers that the illusions they are seeing are the alternate realities Nelsen had created with his lies, and that they are just being walked through this tale as it unfolded for the unfortunate expedition party. Saejin considers this and looks around at the party, keenly noticing slight transformations in their appearance; their magical items did not seem to be affected, but the remainder of their physical features had slowly begun to take on a cartoonish look. Still hurting from the first battle fought that day, the party attempts to sit down and rest at every possible opportunity, but every time they do, the Shades attack. They utilize every method they can think of to keep themselves safe and unmolested -- the Blanketfort, Leomund's Tiny Hut -- nothing seems to stop the Shades' relentless prodding. They realize they are being intentionally run to exhaustion by whatever powers control this space, and that rest or retreat will not be options. There is no going back. They chug a few more healing potions and pull up their boots. They move on and enter a large chamber containing a dark pit in the center, which appears to have multiple levels within, but disappears into darkness beyond sight at its deepest. They do not immediately notice anyone around, and talk among themselves; Saejin and Scoff look around for traces of Noctus or signs that he and Prickle had been there, and begin to notice scratches and tracks leading up and out of the pit, which appear to belong to a small animal (like a squirrel) exiting the pit then transforming into a different type of creature. They also see large claw marks, evidence of spells having been cast, and other general signs of battle. Session 4.1.19 Location: Mines beneath town of Aurora Having escaped the floating undead beholder heads, the party finds themselves at the bottom of the vertical tunnel, with two passageways on either side of them. Saejin casts Magic Circle at the bottom of the tunnel, hoping that if something attacks them from either of the passageways, it can provide them with some respite. One passageway leads to another chamber with a 20' alcove, a lectern and, above it, a large statue of a beholder, somewhat blocking the rest of the chamber beyond, its eyes glowing different colors. Down the other short passageway are double doors so massive that they could nearly reach through its keyhole, with an equally large tapestry in front of it, emblazoned with the word "Welcome." Above the doors are two large eyes. While investigating the door, Shadow gets the welcome mat stuck to him (due to a Web spell enchantment on it), and struggles to release himself. Eventually Kolai uses fire to burn it off, and they roll it up for transport. Before they continue, the party heals up by guzzling much of their collection of healing potions, not knowing what they may face ahead. Once they progress through the massive door, they follow caverns deeper into the mines. They notice that dark ghostly spirits follow them, appearing as their own shadows, but not always matching their movements perfectly. Tasi explains that these may be something called Shades. They don't seem to be aggressive toward the party as long as they continue moving forward together as a group. Saejin and Kolai mess with the Shades by trying to catch them in their act; Saejin explains that it's something she once heard in a popular Fey children's tale called "Peter Pan." They eventually find themselves at the top of yet another vertical tunnel; Shadow swears he hears voices coming from within, and sees a rope going over the ledge, presumably used to climb down by whoever they are hearing, but when he touches the rope, it seems illusionary. While Saejin, Felix, and Scoff check out the mine carts along the top of the tunnel, Kolai finds a lever and both he and Shadow become suddenly drawn to it, feeling it is Very Important and Must Be Pulled. They pull it at the same time, the stairs heading down the tunnel turn to a slick and winding ramp, and they go careening downward. Without any recourse, Saejin, Felix, and Scoff hop into their own carts and race to the bottom as well, Saejin crashing into the wall as she goes too quickly into a loop-the-loop and taking 9 points of ramp damage. At the bottom they find an entrance to another chamber, but also find another lever that turns the ramp back into stairs, and they decide to go back to the first chamber before they move on. Back at the Beholder Statue room, the party are given a riddle they must solve in order to pass safely: : "What is the picture of everlasting love?" After some consideration and debate, Saejin guesses "necromancy," and they are allowed to enter the chamber. They find what they assume is Edison's office, filled to the brim with piles and piles of sheets of vellum made from troll skin. They collect as many as they can from off the walls, and read their contents aloud: *'"The Arm of Set."' The word elephant. *'“No one. You are forgotten.”' Name of your first love. *'“It is a blight on your soul and will return shortly after each healing.”' Your favorite book. *'“Set Edna’s soul to rest or destroy it, strike a deal with the Whatleys, or use ‘The Ultimate Panacea’.”' Knowledge of deadly traps. *'“It is in the Echelon’s first base, now the lair of their former servant."' Your ability to seduce. *'“The brothers Cho and Goth are young and eager for a master.”' Your right arm. *'“No. Your ‘pet’ cannot alter or control that arm.”' Your knowledge of the color pallette. Felix also finds a dessicated and very old Arm, which they presume is The Arm of Set, as mentioned in the notes. March 2019 Session 3.25.19 Location: Entering mines in town of Aurora The party begin to notice that commonplace items in their possession have begun to change into cartoonish versions. The party fights flying undead beholder heads as they descend a vertical tunnel by jumping between platforms. At the end of the session, the party finds themselves at the bottom of the vertical tunnel, with two passageways on either side of them. One passageway leads to another chamber with a 20' alcove, a lectern and, above it, a large statue of a beholder, somewhat blocking the rest of the chamber beyond, its eyes glowing different colors. Down the other short passageway are double doors so massive that they could nearly reach through its keyhole, with an equally large tapestry in front of it, emblazoned with the word "Welcome." Above the doors are two large eyes. Session 3.18.19 (One-Shot) Location: DREAM WORLD Many members of the party find themselves in attendance at a Renaissance Faire-like festival run by Major Figures and other NPCs. Kolai buys a season pass so he can return. Session 3.11.19 Location: in the forests SW of Vespertide (?), approaching town of Aurora The party marches on through the strange forest. Saejin casts Detect Evil & Good, and senses aberrations all around them. They finally come to a stone wall surrounding a small town that looks like a blend of real and cartoon. Written on the stone wall is the name of the town: Aurora. They notice a strange figure standing amongst the abandoned buildings, and they attempt to flank it, but when they finally approach, it turns out to be Hide-and-Seek Bot. No longer sensing any immediate danger, Shadow, Felix, Kolai, Scoff, and Tasi investigate the buildings. Saejin, still outside the wall, watches for danger on the edge of the forest. She notes an extreme prevalence of cartoonish animals, and manages to kill a deer much more easily than she expected. Upon looking at it closer, Session 3.4.19 Location: February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 Session 7.2.18 Location: '''- June 2018 Session 6.27.18 '''Location: Sunken Aeire Felix visits with Mandelbrock. The party have a brief shopping spree, and check out Krak's manor in order to cash in on a reward and seek more job opportunities. They take in the games in Krak's Bazaar, then attend Felix's lecture, which is interrupted by Mandelbrock. He invites Felix to meet in his chambers. Session 6.18.18 Location: The party receives a summons from Rebecca, requesting that they meet her at her cabin, about an hour away. As they approach the cabin at night, Saejin questions whether it may be a trap, but they eventually decide to proceed. Shadow knocks on the door. It is opened, and there stands Rebecca; Saejin tries to test her by asking what town they first met in, which she answers correctly. She asks if the auctioneer was Edward, and they tell her yes. She wants to know why he was there and what he was after. They initially attempt to deceive her by not telling her about Armstrong's Spectacles, but then Kolai pressures Saejin into telling her they are in her possession. Kolai then tells her how he came acorss them, by way of Kama. Rebecca requests to see them, but Saejin doesn't want to give them up. She promises to give them back, and Saejin tries to read her -- she can tell Becky is lying. Saejin steps behind Tempest, then activates and dons the glasses, but they don't work, as she's forgotten they have expired for her. She continues to refuse to pass them over. Tempest casts Detect Magic and notes massive amounts of illusion magic permeating from the whole room and cabin. Rebecca then says, "I don't want to hurt you, but I'm afraid I must insist." The party preps themselves. Kolai slowly approaches Rebecca to clasp her hands, and tries to slip a Ring on her finger. The illusion drops -- it is Bradley Reinhardt. His face is sad. The cabin then also transforms, and we see evidence of a vicious and brutal fight. Blood is everywhere, but there is no body. Kolai nocks a blue bamfing arrow while they speak with him. He is somewhat friendly and himself, but says that his master Edward requires that he retrieve the glasses. If he brings him the glasses, he will return Becky. They can tell he's struggling against whatever Kolai tries to snatch the glasses off of Saejin -- he rolls a Nat 1, she rolls a Nat 20. He then asks her to trust him, and she gives him the glasses. He then shoots an bamfing arrow out the window. Tempest grapples Saejin and dashes out of the building. Shadow runs out as well, while Scoff remains behind, sitting down into a chair. While out of the house, Kolai hides the glasses, then bamfs back into the room, finding that much of the party has left. Reinhardt hangs his head, talking low to only Scoff, saying he wasn't lying when he said he didn't want to hurt them. He throws a bag of 1250 gp (the exact cost of a Raise Dead spell) onto the table, saying that if they were to find her body, it should cover the cost of bringing her back. Then he mists out. Meanwhile, Tempest continues to run while carrying Saejin. Saejin tells him to find Kolai, and th Scoff notes that a book called "The Bandersnatch's Bauble" is left behind in the room. Inside he finds Reinhardt's writing on the front page: "This is a hint. When you figure out the rules let me know, I can only do this once." A few of the party recognize this book as a moralistic gnomish fable. Tempest tries to track Rebecca down with some wolf friends. It takes 1.5 hours, but they eventually lead him to a hastily dug grave May 2018 Session Twelve 5.7.18 Location: Sunken Aerie, Minsk, Corvo Bianco, Dunnwich Marsh Leaving Sunken Aerie, the party heads towards the Dunnwich Marsh to follow a lead on a family named Whatley rumored to make deals with demons and devils alike. When they make it as far as Minsk, though, they hear news that more smaller cubes have appeared in other places as well: Corvo Bianco, Silver's Landing, and some other town called Solstice. As Corvo is just a few days away, they opt to head that direction first, to investigate the prototype cube. Sure enough, there is a spectacle around it as it has 1) crushed a spring shop and 2) attracted attention concerning its own nature. As this is his hometown, Shadow chats with the guards and is able to get them inside for yet another puzzle. Seemingly, no one else has solved the puzzle yet, although multiple parties have been trying. After finding a way to move water across the hot sands, three rewards are presented to the party: all quivers. The party defers to Kolai, their archer, and he selects the one with conjuration magic surrounding it, resulting in two sets of teleportation arrows. They stay the night at Shadow's estate, drinking most of his wine, and in the morning they eat "apple pie" made by Kolai and everyone takes their own personal time. Saejin goes through Shadow's office and finds a letter from the burser of Corvo Bianco, then steals it to be used as a handwriting sample. Kolai seeks to buy healing potions, but soon regrets not making that decision back in Sunken Aerie where they are less expensive. He does run into a sweet girl selling some delicacies called "crepes," though. He would like to visit her again, but knows they will be leaving town soon. Once the party reconvenes, they set out for Dunwich Swamp. Scoff and Kolai train using the new arrows, drawing up a handful of battle tactics. They are eager to try "Rat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "Rat a Tat Tat" in the field, but are unable to perfect "Pack Rat," "I Smell a Rat," or "Rat Leaving a Sinking Ship." Arriving at the swamp, they unexpectedly find a rickety old shop called "Needle Sings" (see: Needless Things), the name of which Shadow recognizes as similar to one he visited back in Sunken Aerie. Oddly enough, it IS the same shop, run by the same owner -- an animated scarecrow, pleasant and mysterious. They learn nothing of how his one shop is in two places, as Patchwork Jack himself doesn't understand it, either. Still, they are able to do some trading and Kolai walks away with two rings (The Purity Ring and The Life-Sensing RIng) and a nice pipe. Meeting with Whatley himself, we only learn a little information before the conversation turns sour. While he does tell them that Reinhardt was no client of his, he makes it clear that were the party to do further business with him, they would need to remove a lizardfolk presence elsewhere in the swamp for him. The idea of slaughtering a village of lizardfolk doesn't interest any of them, but after some debate, they do decide to at least visit The Nameless and offer a warning, if nothing else. Alas, the damned lizardfolk betray them after gaining their trust enough to dine with them. The party offer their assistance with the Whatley situation, and Astrid even mentions a relocation offer to her own village, but in the end, the bastards drug them and they soon found themselves weaponless, fighting a horrid monstrosity. In the end, the party kills the beast, the Viletooth's matron Narth, and their guard captain. April 2018 Session Eleven 4.30.18 Session Ten 4.23.18 Location: Sunken Aerie The party compiled their research, then went to sleep at the inn. When they woke they found Rebecca waiting downstairs. They swapped info with her over breakfast, and she told Tempest about a family named the Whatleys who live in a marsh that she thought he should speak with. They told her about the Squarebert they found, Reinhardt’s current “state,” maybe about the diary pages (?). She told them that in Reinhardt’s past he was conscripted into an army under a ruthless king and was forced to take an oath of conquest. He later broke his oath and fled, becoming a paladin of redemption. The fact that the markings on his side (“douse the flame of hope/rule with an iron fist/strength above all”) have appeared again mean that he has renewed his oath of conquest - a bad sign. They told her they plan to pursue this further, for her purposes and their own; she was into it and offered to continue to support and sponsor the party. She recommended they speak with Naudia Spinebreaker, a dwarf bard in Silver’s Landing, the librarian of The Faerun Metropolis. Becky invited the party to join her in attending the goblin parade returning from the mine with their spoils. First, they kill time in Krak’s Thumb Bazaar for an hour until the parade begins. But Becky saved them seats! The parade arrives, 2 wagons full of treasure and goblins. Then shit gets crazy - a crack of thunder silences the music, the parade halts, and a 10' x 10' Squarebert drops from the ceiling of the cave. The party investigates - it looks like Cubert, but smaller, the face is more stern, and other little differences, but it still has the wings. It has some sort of force field around it they realize after a goblin approaches closely. Goblins keep going into the field, trying to communicate to outsiders, then exploding as if being crushed by a giant fist. Tempest throws a goblin on top of the cube to test a theory. The other goblins are pissed and attack Tempest. The party holds onto their butts and jump into the force field together. Squarebert’s face speaks and gives them a riddle that almost destroyed them. But they solve it, he opens, and they are given 2 rings to select from - they take the masochist ring. They determine this is very likely one of the Cubert prototypes. As they exit, Saejin casts a sourceless, booming exclamation of victory, and some of the goblins think Squarebert was just one of Krak’s tests of skill that the party managed to beat. But most are still pissed at Tempest. He bolts (and casts Disguise Self). They then find Becky again - she tells them she’ll deal with the crowd. What a gal. Session Nine 4.9.18 Session Eight 4.2.18 Location: '''Lamplight Caves, Cubert #2' The Party arrived at the second game in the Cubert and was presented with three passage ways to potentially follow. Shadow and Felix (?) chose to take the middle path where it eventually split into a high and low road. (I run out of notes at this point on the cube games) After solving all the puzzles and being rewarded with another page we were informed by cubert that there were four cuberts that had been opened at this point. March 2018 Session Seven - 3.28.2018 '''Location: Lamplight Caves, Lyconid Kingdom' The Party continued on their exploration of the cavern in search of Reinhardt. In one chamber of the caves they found a group of goblins that appear to have been killed, but after closer inspection it was found they were overtaken by Lyconid Sprouts and the party had walked into yet another ambush. After killing off the sprouts a river flowing into a cracked open rocky area was found. Shadow was the first to enter attempting to move carefully to scout ahead but was quickly ran over when Astrid decided to use a plant base as a raft down the waterslide of a river. At the outlet a bio-luminescent cavern was found that was heavily populated with more Lyconids. They were able to reason with the Lyconids after being exposed to their spores in a short of telepathic communication style. The Lyconids allowed the group to accesss another Cubert which had had it's face already smashed open presumably by Reinhardt. After entering Cubert required the group to sign a contract promising to follow the rules of several games to win a prize. The first game of the series required us to pass all of our cursed items through a slot which the group was able to complete with ease. Session Six - 3.19.2018 Location: Sunken Aerie, Lamplight, Lamplight Caves The Party reassembled in Sunken Aerie where members were conducting various research into Edward, Cuberts, and other threats they were facing. Rebecca provided the group with a powerful Divination scroll that when used indicated that Reinhardt was located in a forest near the village of Lamplight. The party once again called upon the expertise of Rufus to travel from Sunken Aerie to Lamplight. After arriving in Lamplight they meet with a young dragon-born female in the Gargling Gargoyle who told us that Reinhardt had most likely entered a cavern that had opened up in the nearby forest. The group was also told that a group of goblins from Crack's Thumb led by Glip Glop had contracted with the town for rights to raid the cavern. The party then set off the for cavern meeting with the rearguard of the goblin raiding group near the entrance. A contact was formed with the goblins to search the cavern for Reinhardt after we consented to a search by the goblins. After entering the cavern we faced an ambush by a group of dark mantles that were quickly dispatched. Downtime Session - 3.19.2018 Location: Various Shadow returned to Shadow returned to Corvo Bianco and issued a report of the group's recent events to his commander Captain Capheus (I seriously had this written as Catvious in my notes as I thought Chris was going for a cat pun) explaining the cubert found in Coalhammer and the attack by Count Edward. Due to the scale of the current events Shadow was transferred to the Order of the Purple Dragon Knights, the Sovereign Guard of Corvo Bianco. Shadow was placed under the tutorage of Chad Warwick a Half Dragonborn/Half Elf Officer in the order. Shadow was trained in hidden sign, code, and how to find local stations and conduct dead drops. Session Five "Siege of Manor Thonk" - 3.5.2018 Location: Thonk Manor The Part began the session besieged by the forces of County Edward. As the bridge leading the quasi-island that was the manor area was destroyed the party had time to prepare for the eventual assault. Shadow spent the first three hours organizing an impromptu defense assigning posting to the militia consisting of the small guard force and armed citizenry, during this time Shadow became aware that there were infiltrators among his militia. Shadow also conducted a search of the manor's armory to supply the militia during which he discovered his mirrored shield. As the battle erupted Shadow became aware of a pack of four wolves that was attempting to flank the party's fortified position. Shadow was able to post at the back entrance of the manor combating and delaying the wolves eventually killing one and heavily wounding the other three. As the battle shifted and it became clear the defense was holding Count Edward was able to possess Reinhardt attempting to make him drown himself in the river. Shadow (or was it tempest?) was able to react and drag him away from the river causing Edward to become frustrated and teleporting himself and Reinhardt away. Rebecca was emotionally distraught at the loss of Reinhardt. The party escorted Rebecca back to Silver's Landing and made plans to return in six weeks to begin tracking Count Edward once Rebecca could acquire necessary items. Session Four - 3.5.2018 Location: Coalhammer Mines, Thonk Manor The party makes contact with a Cubert for the first time. After solving a riddle that was ascribed into the walls of the cavern the party was able to enter the Cubert with shadow being the first. Shadow was greatly amused with the portals inside the Cubert and the was able to uncover. Felix became infatuated with the cube after the party discovered it was a semi-sentient vault. The Cubert did not know who created it but knew it came into existence "a long time ago" and was by a "Large but frail people". The Cubert stated that it was but the first of many and once opened none of the others could be opened in the same manner. At the end of the Cubert the party found the first part of Jenny's Journal, Which shadow made not of as a "Lame broken magic book". Once the Journal was recovered the party was able to exit the cube. After exiting the cube the party then left the mine to meet with Rebecca at Ruby's Manor, where a large gala was being hosted. During the gala shadow spent time socializing with guests and attempting to eavesdrop on conversations to gather information. Shadow over heard a conversation between two individuals about one being in serious debt and considering going to the Whatley family to work out a deal. The Gala was rudely interrupted when the manor was besieged by Count Edward Diego Jose Francisco de Paul Jaun Mark de L'Entrata who demanded we hand over the Journal. Reinhardt was able to Smite the bridge leading to the manor delaying the attack by Count Edward. February 2018 Session Three "the Battle of Tunnel Four" - 2.28.2018 Location: Coalhammer Mines The party planned and infiltrated the mine complex to locate an area known as Tunnel Four. The party learned for the first time that Kolai, our halfling tiefling comrade, has a set of deformed wings that give him the appearance of a hunched back. After infiltrating the mine complex we found Tunnel Four in an abandoned shaft lettered "E". The tunnel was not collapsed as reported and appeared to be in okay condition merely abandoned. In the tunnel the party found bodies, gravestones, and a cracked open coffin that appeared to have been deposited by the shifting soil. The party then encounted an Elf, four Undead, and a Minotaur who quickly became hostile to the group when we were unable to give a good explanation for our presence in the tunnel. during the battle Shadow was able to hold back the Minotaur by shield blocking him blocking his movement toward the party before eventually slaying him. Shadow noted in his log that the Minotaur "Was a worthy Opponent". After the battle we entered a temple like cavern with a very large black cube with a face staring blankly at us. Session Two - 2.19.2018 Location: Coalhammer The Party arrived in Coalhammer and began to scout out the city before going to the mine. The Party looked into two taverns; The Gilded Golum, an up-class and expensive tavern, and the Belching Beholder, the working class tavern. The party decided to rent a room at the Gilded Golum for two nights to use as a base of operations in Coalhammer. It was discovered by talking to locals that the mine has been plagued with shifting soil conditions causing several cave ins and earthquakes underground, the mine company has made no effort to retrieve the bodies of lost workers. The party decided the best course of action moving forward was to be hired into positions at mine as it should give them access to various places. Getting hired was simpler than the group expected and we for the first of many times split the party. Shadow was hired on as a supervisor in the shipping yard. Shadow while employed in the shipping yard attempted to inquire to the causes of the accidents in the mines which was met with resistance and anger by the manager Carter Wobblethumb, he was talk that it was the business of Finnis Runequarters and Nicholas Bloodiron and to drop the issue. Mine Staff * Oil Can Runequarters - Mine Foreman * Carter Wobblethumb - Shipping Manager * Finnis Runequarters - Smelting Manager * Nicholas Bloodiron - Smithing Manager Session One "The Origin Story" - 2.12.2018 Location: Minsk The Party was summoned by various means to a tavern in the town of Minsk. Shadow was dispatched by his commander to assist with a special assignment. At the Traveling Tankard the party meet with a red haired woman named Rebecca and a Half-Orc Bradley Reinhardt. Rebecca offered the group work to investigate unusual activity at the Coalhammer Mines. The mines were reported to have had several accidents but had at the same time had no decrease in production. Coalhammer (mine or city?) is reported to be run by a goliath named ruby. Shadow sent a letter off to Corvo Bianco to request a official letter of inspection to use as official cover as the kingdom does significant business with the mine. The group had our first encounter with Rufus and "The roughest ride in the west"TM caravan business to travel from Minsk to Coalhammer. During the ride we caravan was ambushed by a group of bandits of which one was killed and the other two quickly fled.